Spencer Horwitz hits 1st career grand slam as Pirates top Tigers 6-1 for series sweep
Horwitz drove a two-out cutter from Troy Melton (0-1) 416 feet to centerfield to make it 5-0.
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Boston Globe
29 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Mike Vrabel recalled getting into a training camp fight as a rookie in 1997
When asked a reporter at his 'I don't want any of us doing that,' he said. Vrabel then quickly replied 'nope' when asked if he could offer more detail from that earlier moment in his career. Advertisement Eventually, however, he reflected on the episode. Vrabel took the bait when a reporter asked if he won the fight. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I think I did,' he said. 'It's a good story about — don't use the fight — but about a veteran player. Greg Lloyd was a very dominant player, imposing figure. I got drafted in April, and he didn't say a word to me through OTAs. And I'm on the defense, mind you. So he didn't say a word to me the entire offseason. 'We go to training camp. There's a fight with me and a tight end, and I'm exhausted after practice, and I see this shadow come over me as I'm sitting in the locker room, and he's in his deep voice, and he's like, 'Yeah, the next time you want to come up underneath the face mask?' I was like, 'You just now are going to talk to me?' He's like, 'Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you weren't like a punk, and then I would talk to you.' Advertisement 'It's a good example of just a veteran making sure that rookies kind of earn their stripes, I guess, a little bit.' Asked if he has specifically told his players to not fight, Vrabel provided a detailed explanation. 'Of course,' Vrabel replied. 'We want to be able to practice the same way we have to play, which is physical and within the rules. Have a great play demeanor, finish through the whistle, and all those things. 'If you throw a punch, you're going to get kicked out of the game, which is going to cost the team. So I don't anticipate any of that,' he said. 'I want us to celebrate with our team and with the defensive unit, celebrate with each other. Offensive unit, get excited and celebrate with each other, not get into the taunting and the things that we can't have during the game.' Vrabel, drafted by the Steelers, played with Pittsburgh from 1997-2000. But after not becoming a starter, he was allowed to test free agency. Bill Belichick and the Patriots gratefully swooped in to sign him, and the edge-rusher became an important part of the early part of New England's dynasty, winning three Super Bowls in four seasons. Hayden Bird can be reached at
Newsweek
30 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Reeling Tigers Get One-Two Punch Of Bad News as Playoff Chances Slip
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Detroit Tigers were one of the great MLB feel-good stories of 2024. Coming from seven games under .500 as late as Aug. 4, the Bengals surged into the postseason for the first time since 2014, winning 33 of their last 49 games. This year, at least through the beginning of July, they seemed to have picked up where they left off. On July 8, Detroit boasted the best record in baseball at 59-34, a .634 winning percentage. That was significantly better even than the defending World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who at the time stood at .602. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 03: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers walks across the field during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 03: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers walks across the field during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 03, 2025 in Washington, then it all started to go south. Since that date, the Tigers have won only three games and lost 12. Amazingly, they still enjoy a comfortable — at least for now — lead of nine games in the American League Central over the Cleveland Guardians, who have problems of their own. But according to Fangraphs, the Tigers' chances of making the playoffs have slipped somewhat from a virtual certainty of 99.8% on July 8 with an 11.7% chance of winning the World Series — better than any team in MLB except the Dodgers — to 96.6% with an 8% chance of winning the World Series. In their most recent two games, the Tigers showed signs of turning their fortunes back around, snapping a six-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, followed by a 5-1 defeat of the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday. More MLB: Tigers Reportedly Acquiring Chris Paddack In Trade With Twins But all was still not well. The Tigers were slammed with a double shot of terrible injury news on Monday. First, 25-year-old, third-year starting pitcher Reese Olson — who had just returned from a five-week stay on the injured list July 4 — was sent back to the IL with a strained pitching shoulder. The Tigers did not reveal the exact nature of the "strain," but they know it must be bad enough to end the righty's season. The team sent Olson and his 3.15 ERA — effectively making him the Tigers No. 2 starter behind reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal — straight to the 60-day IL, removing him from the 40-man roster. With top-rated rookie Jackson Jobe also out for the season since late May with Tommy John surgery, the Tigers have now lost three-fifths of their opening day starting rotation. The Tigers quickly engineered a trade with the Minnesota Twins to obtain Chris Paddack, a 29-year-old righty with a 4.95 ERA. But Paddack has reliably showed up for all 21 of his starts, which may be the most important factor for the Tigers at this moment. The seven-year veteran is scheduled to start Wednesday's game at home against Arizona, taking Olson's spot in the rotation. More MLB: Big Trouble For MLB-Best Tigers as Top Rookie Pitcher's Season Now Threatened But the bad news did not stop there for the Tigers. Also on Monday the team announced that centerfielder Parker Meadows, who missed the first 60 games of the season with a nerve injury in his right arm, was headed back to the IL. Unlike Olson, the Tigers expect Meadows to return at the end of his 10-day IL stay, or soon thereafter. The quad strain that sent him there, according to a report by the Detroit Free Press, was caught early and the team believes any serious tear to the muscle was averted. Meadows never got into a groove after returning from his first IL stint, scraping together an anemic .566 OPS on just 25 hits in 125 at-bats. The Tigers selected Andy Ibáñez from the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens to take Meadows' spot on the 26-man roster. More MLB: MLB's Best Team Gets 'Big Upgrade'; Tigers Outfielder Activated For Season Debut
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I felt like the old Genie': Bouchard extends career with first-round win at NBO
MONTREAL — Eugenie Bouchard's retirement will have to wait. The former world No. 5 — and first Canadian woman to contest a Grand Slam final in the open era — upset Colombia's Emiliana Arango 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round Monday night at the National Bank Open, extending her tennis career for at least one match. 'I told my family that if I won the tournament, I would come out of retirement,' she said from centre court. 'I felt like the old Genie out there.' Bouchard, who also earned her 300th singles win, announced on July 16 that she would hang up her racket at the end of her hometown event. The 31-year-old from Westmount, Que., rose to prominence with a sensational season in 2014. At only 20, she reached the Wimbledon final, played in the Australian Open and French Open semifinals and won her only WTA title. Bouchard never returned to that level in a short-lived run among the best in tennis, but for one night at least, she resembled her old self — striking the ball with flair and painting the lines with forehand winners. "I woke up this morning just telling myself, look I can't control the result, I just want to have a good attitude, have good fight and try to feel good with my shots, feel good with my game,' she said. 'No matter what happens, I wanted to walk off the court having enjoyed that gritty battle. 'I enjoyed every second of it.' Now ranked 1,062nd, Bouchard has moved away from the pro tennis circuit in recent years, spending more time on the PPA Pickleball Tour, where she ranks 12th in singles. Knowing it could be her last dance, fans mostly filled IGA Stadium, welcoming Bouchard with loud applause when she stepped on the court and cheering her on — with mixed chants of 'Let's Go Genie!' and 'Allez Eugenie!' — with every point. Bouchard could feel the crowd's energy running through her. Sometimes a little too much. When Bouchard broke the 82nd-ranked Arango twice in the decisive third set — first with a forehand, then from the Colombian's missed volley — to build a 5-1 lead, she described the feeling as an 'out-of-body' experience. 'The crowd was so noisy that I didn't feel my body for 30 seconds,' she said. 'And I lost the game after that. It didn't help me at the time.' Arango broke back with Bouchard serving for the match to make it 5-2, but the Canadian went up 40-love in the ensuing game. Arango then sent her forehand wide on Bouchard's second match point. The local favourite held her hands above her head in disbelief, blew kisses to the crowd, and later told a shouting fan 'I love you, too!' "It was electric out there,' Bouchard said. 'I'm so proud of how I competed and stayed focused throughout the whole match and fought. It was a physical battle, a mental battle, and it just felt amazing to play in Montreal in front of everyone.' Bouchard will take on 17th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the second round Wednesday night. She came out with flashes of her attacking style, pushing Arango out of position with a dangerous backhand before hitting a forehand winner to go up 1-0 in the first set. After holding serve to go up 5-4, Bouchard earned double breakpoint and hit a forehand winner down the line to take the set. "I know that I have good tennis, but I didn't know if I could show it today,' she said. 'I put effort into practice recently and I really wanted to have a good performance. So I knew I could do that, but it depended on whether I could stay in the game mentally and not be in my emotions or think about all the things that were around this game and around this tournament. 'I'm proud I was able to do that. I still have my focus.' Bouchard's momentum didn't carry into the second set as Arango broke her three times to comfortably force a third. Then she got it back. Also on Monday, Canada's Kayla Cross, Ariana Arseneault and Carson Branstine dropped out of the NBO after the first round. Cross let a one-set lead slip away in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia, and Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., fell 6-4, 6-2 to Japan's Naomi Osaka. Branstine, who grew up in California but represents Canada through family ties in Toronto, pushed former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari to three sets, but ultimately dropped the two hour, 23-minute match 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Toronto's Victoria Mboko, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino advanced to the second round with wins Sunday. Andreescu's status for the remainder of the tournament is unclear after she hurt her left ankle on match point against Czechia's Barbora Krejcikova. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025. Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
